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Blackburn 0-0 Sheffield Wednesday: Nightmare AFTER Christmas

This was no Christmas Cracker, as Rovers and Wednesday played out a dismal 0-0 draw.

Both sides struggled to create chances on a freezing cold afternoon, with even Blackburn’s hotshot poacher Jordan Rhodes reduced to scraps.

The closest either side came to scoring was in the third minute, when Stephen McPhail’s free-kick from the right avoided everyone and required a firm hand from Simon Eastwood to tip it round the post.

Chances were limited at the other end too, with Rhodes forcing Chris Kirkland to deflect an effort round the post after Roger Johnson had gifted him the ball.

Former Owl Ben Marshall also saw an effort comfortably saved before Atdhe Nuhui came close for Wednesday as he forced a second good save out of Eastwood with a header that was tipped over the bar.

But that was as good as it got and after Rovers were booed off by some of the Ewood Park faithful, puzzled boss Gary Bowyer admitted: “The progress we’re making is decent – that’s 6 out of the last 9 games where we’ve kept a clean sheet.

“There’s a chorus of boos round the ground, which I don’t quite understand, because we have to understand where we’ve come from.

“You always try to win the game, but if you can’t get the three, make sure you get the one.

“We just weren’t ruthless enough in front of goal.”

The game threatened to liven up after the break, with Rudy Gestede forcing Kirkland into a good save early on before another McPhail free-kick flicked the wall and drifted just wide.

But the afternoon was summed up in the 74th minute when Blackburn’s Tom Cairney missed from close range with the goal gaping, before Josh King tamely fired straight at Kirkland from inside the box.